Tressel's exit no surprise to Delany

Jim Delany learned in mid-January, almost two months before it became public knowledge, that Jim Tressel had withheld emails from his superiors and the NCAA.

Jim Delany learned in mid-January, almost two months before it became public knowledge, that Jim Tressel had withheld emails from his superiors and the NCAA.

Right away, the Big Ten commissioner knew the odds were against Tressel keeping his job as Ohio State football coach.

"I thought it would be a very difficult road," Delany told The Dispatch yesterday.

Delany said he was surprised and disappointed by the revelation, which he learned of at the same time as Ohio State and the NCAA through a Freedom of Information Act query.

"(I was) a little dumbfounded because it was the twist and the narrative I'd never expected to hear," he said. "But I've been around long enough that I don't go into shock when I hear something."

Delany knew that for all of Tressel's good deeds, it would be difficult to survive a transgression as serious as withholding information about potential NCAA violations. Tressel was encouraged to resign last Monday.

"I understand the affection that the state, the university and the players have for him," Delany said. "I don't define the person by any single thing they do, but by a collection of things. But I also knew that this thing standing alone would be judged alone, certainly by the NCAA. There's not a hearing on good deeds."

Ohio State is scheduled to appear before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions on Aug. 12 in Indianapolis.

Delany said the lesson that should be drawn from the Tressel case is that those in authority cannot dodge their responsibility to forward potentially damaging information up the chain of command.

"I think coach Tressel would acknowledge - and he did acknowledge - that how he handled it was not the right way to handle it," Delany said. "I think the chain broke when the coach became aware of the information and didn't forward it in the chain of command."

Delany is confident that the guilt lies strictly with Tressel and not with others at Ohio State, notably athletic director Gene Smith or president E. Gordon Gee.

"I would just say this: As much as a person can be certain of what they don't know, I'm certain," Delany said. "In the case of Gordon and Gene, let's put it this way: When they had information about the tattoo situation, it went to the NCAA. When they had information about Jim, it went to the NCAA. And pretty much in real time I knew about it.

"Based on their history, their past and how they acted, I have full confidence in them as to their integrity and to doing the right thing at the right time in regard to NCAA violations."

Delany said it could be termed "regrettable" that it took 10 weeks for Tressel to resign after the violations were publicly revealed. He acknowledged the damage that has been done to Ohio State's reputation.

"It's not easy for Ohio State," Delany said. "It's not easy for the Big Ten. But I have tremendous confidence in that program to be resilient and to do the right thing and to re-establish themselves. Now all we can do is wait for the facts to come out, have them collaborate with the NCAA and then live with the decision the NCAA will deliver sometime this summer."

Title city is picked

The Big Ten selected Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to be the site of its football championship game through 2015, the conference announced yesterday.

Indianapolis was selected instead of Chicago's Soldier Field because of the preference to play the game indoors, Delany said. The Big Ten had already picked Indianapolis to play host to its inaugural championship game in 2011, which will be played on Dec. 3.

The Big Ten also announced that it would rotate its men's and women's basketball tournaments between Chicago and Indianapolis starting in 2013.

The men's tournament will be at the United Center in '13 and '15. The women's tournament will be at the Sears Centre in suburban Hoffman Estates, Ill., the same years.Conseco Fieldhouse will play host to both tournaments in 2014 and 2016.

brabinowitz@dispatch.com

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